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Of course it starts raining the second Allison steps outside.
She looks up at the sky as if to confirm the giant raindrops aren't just a figment of her imagination. Unfortunately, they aren't, and now she stands in the middle of the street like an idiot, letting her hair get ruined. Well, isn't that just how life is…
Either way, she has places to be and people to see and the weather won't change no matter how hard she tries to will the rain away. So, Allison gets moving, putting her hands over her head as a poor replacement for an umbrella.
"Hey, come here." Someone puts an actual umbrella over her. Allison looks at them, and her first thought is rainbow guardian angel. The girl's hair stand out immediately in all their colorful glory. That's what Allison focuses on, because that gentle smile and lovely face is making her heart race.
"Thank you, you really didn't have to," Allison says, smiling back.
"It's no problem, really. Can't leave a pretty girl hanging, right?" The girl winks and Allison's brain resets. It's not even that she doesn't flirt with girls, but to be approached first is new.
"What's your name?"
"Yeah, just like that."
"I think it looks a bit…"
Renee holds up a piece of fabric that' supposed to be her costume. Allison thinks the stitch she's been trying to teach Renee for the past however many minutes looked fine for a first attempt.
"It looks alright, really. We won't finish until November if you keep stressing over the smallest details."
"I'm sorry I want us to actually look good," Renee huffs and goes back to trying to perfect her technique.
It's almost as if their roles were reversed for a moment. Usually it's Allison stressing over everything and Renee reassuring her, but it seems matching Halloween costumes were more serious business than Allison realized.
"I'll show you again, then," Allison relents, shuffling closer to Renee. "You go up like this…"
Their hands brush as Allison demonstrates how to do the stitch properly. She's desperately trying not to think about how that makes her feel. The flirting was brief and didn't really mean anything, even if she still replays the moment in her mind at least twice a day. They're friends, good friends, even. Allison doesn't want to fuck it up, so she pushes it all the way down.
"I mean… Whatever, fine."
Allison picks up a pumpkin and does her best to pose with it. Renee gives her a thumbs up and snaps a few photos with her camera, seemingly very pleased with the result.
"Perfect, thank you."
"I look stupid." Allison puts the pumpkin back and tries to snatch the camera out of Renee's hands.
"No! Don't you dare delete—"
Allison eventually has the camera in her hands. Final verdict: the photos with the pumpkin are stupid. As she flicks through the rest of the photos, she notices how many shots Renee has taken of her when she wasn't looking. Allison laughing at something and looking away from the camera, Allison sipping apple cider, blurry frames of Allison in motion. Is this what it's like seeing myself through her eyes? The thought makes Allison feel warm.
"I'm not deleting anything, calm down."
"Well, you better."
The pumpkin patch was Renee's idea. Allison realizes that she would follow her anywhere like a damn fool right in that moment, looking at her through the lens of the camera. She snaps a photo right as Renee turns her head. The photo is ruined, but Allison can't stop staring at it.
Well, isn't it awkward.
A movie night wasn't a bad idea in itself. It wasn't even the first time they did something like this. It wasn't the first time Allison stayed the night either. They have shared a bed countless time before and they never made it into something weird.
God, the universe or whatever else decided that all those times don't count. They woke up basically spooning, Renee holding Allison tight, legs intertwined. They went to sleep on the opposite sides of the bed, like they always do. It felt so normal, so natural, as if they woke up together like this everyday. Allison wishes they did.
They untangled their limbs in silence, even as Allison really just wanted to spill her guts and beg Renee to stay like this for at least five more minutes. Now they stand by the sink, brushing their teeth and pretending the other isn't there. Great. Isn't it great? Just what regular friends do. No feelings there.
"I'm sorry—"
"This isn't really—"
They both speak at the same time and maybe it would be funny if they were in a shitty sitcom, but it's unfortunately real life.
"Nevermind. Sorry about that," Allison mumbles.
"Morning, beautiful."
Renee kisses Allison's cheek as she sets a tray in her lap. The coffee smells divine, the food looks great and Allison thinks it's much more than she deserves.
"You didn't have to. I could've helped you." She takes a sip of the coffee regardless.
"I didn't want to wake you up."
Allison wants to protest and say that she really should have, but Renee leans in for a proper kiss and effectively shuts Allison up. They've been in love with each other for so many years, but it's only been a few months since they became official girlfriends. Sometimes Allison still finds it strange that she can wake up next to Renee like it's the most normal thing in the world, that she can look at her and not think about getting caught. That she can give her all of the kisses Renee deserves, that she can embrace her whenever she wants.
"Nobody has ever made me breakfast in bed," Allison admits, picking up one of the toasts.
"Happy to be the first one." Renee smiles and the sight is so cute Allison just has to get another kiss before she takes her first bite.
"Thank you."